As if we don’t have enough to worry about, scientists recently discovered that psychological stress directly contributes to the brain lesions that cause Alzheimer’s disease. This finding adds to a growing list of stress-related disorders, including fatigue, heart disease, obesity, insomnia, digestive problems, decreased immunity, increased risk of autoimmune diseases, flaring up of eczema, psoriasis, acne … and a protracted, ugly, fat, and painful death.
Perhaps that’s a bit dramatic. I certainly don’t want to stress you out. And if you’re a stress prone person, I probably did. I mean, the last thing you want to hear when you’re stressed out is that you’re contributing to your own demise.
But information overload, in the form of anxiety-inducing news and input, is certainly one of the reasons we Americans are being driven to our wits’ end. There you are, Sunday afternoon, trying to wind-down with chamomile tea in hand, favorite magazine in lap. But then, on the cover of this well-intentioned but totally alarmist women’s magazine are titles that make you freak: “Sunscreen Alert!” (Crap! Did I forget to put sunscreen on this morning?), “Doing it All? (Oh my god, I am! Or worse, Oh my god, I’m not!), “Protect Yourself From Toxic People!” (How? What If One of Them?!), and the old stand-by, “Breast Cancer: Are You at Risk?” (Boobs! I am going to lose my boobs!)
Magazines can make you want to bury your head in the sand, but they’re nothing compared to the daily news. I am consistently, without fail, stressed out and agitated by current news. There’s global warming (ahh!), there’s the war (terrible!), and there’s Dick Cheney, who, no matter what he says, or wears, or does, always makes me want to put my head in the oven. On broil!
This constant rise in blood pressure makes a once useful system a commonplace foe. Stress used to play a good role in our bodies, releasing endorphins so we could run away from dinosaurs or so we could lift a boulder off our baby Neanderthal when one came tumbling down a hill. But now, if we’re overworked, or underfinanced, or dealing with personal problems, our stress system is constantly activated and causes major havoc. Instead of a short-term “fight or flight” response, it’s become an everyday “work no perk” accumulation of frazzled physiology and adrenalin in overdrive. Our bodies get worn down and we’re more susceptible to the host of diseases listed above. And that was the short list.
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